Nicole Wassall
Unknown Unknowns, 2023
Embossed Somerset 100% cotton rag paper (paper recycled from an earlier work "Flying Geisha Girl")
26 x 38 cm
10 1/4 x 15 in
10 1/4 x 15 in
edition of 9
The Unknown Knowns - Things we understand but are not aware of The Unknown Unknowns -Things we are neither aware of nor understand The 'Known/Unknown' matrix is a concept that...
The Unknown Knowns - Things we understand but are not aware of
The Unknown Unknowns -Things we are neither aware of nor understand
The 'Known/Unknown' matrix is a concept that was originally conceived in psychology to help people better understand themselves and their relationships with others. Coined the Johari Window, it was created by psychologists Joseph Luft (1916 - 2014) and Harrington Ingram (1915 - 1995).
In the same way that the Johari Window can be applied to our conscious and unconscious biases to improve self-awareness and interaction with others, it can be applied to our understanding of the climate crisis.
The Bramble Cay Melomy is extinct due to rising sea levels. This is a known known.
In contrast, the devastating 2020 forest fires in Australia saw the lyrebird loose around fifty percent of its habitat. Because these wonderful birds break down leaf litter by about one third scientists are really worried about the knock-on effect of the loss of these birds. This is a known unknown.
Yet, the matrix makes us aware that this is only part of the picture. There are also 'unknown knowns'; we don't know which other creatures will be at risk as temperatures become more extreme, but we do know that more will. As represented in the Spirit Animals piece by the white, or the page yet to be inked up, image.
And finally the 'unknowns unknowns'. This is the section of the matrix that makes scientists (and Donald Rumsfeld) very nervous. As Rumsfeld said "...But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult one". As represented in the Spirit Animals piece by the solid black image.
The Unknown Unknowns -Things we are neither aware of nor understand
The 'Known/Unknown' matrix is a concept that was originally conceived in psychology to help people better understand themselves and their relationships with others. Coined the Johari Window, it was created by psychologists Joseph Luft (1916 - 2014) and Harrington Ingram (1915 - 1995).
In the same way that the Johari Window can be applied to our conscious and unconscious biases to improve self-awareness and interaction with others, it can be applied to our understanding of the climate crisis.
The Bramble Cay Melomy is extinct due to rising sea levels. This is a known known.
In contrast, the devastating 2020 forest fires in Australia saw the lyrebird loose around fifty percent of its habitat. Because these wonderful birds break down leaf litter by about one third scientists are really worried about the knock-on effect of the loss of these birds. This is a known unknown.
Yet, the matrix makes us aware that this is only part of the picture. There are also 'unknown knowns'; we don't know which other creatures will be at risk as temperatures become more extreme, but we do know that more will. As represented in the Spirit Animals piece by the white, or the page yet to be inked up, image.
And finally the 'unknowns unknowns'. This is the section of the matrix that makes scientists (and Donald Rumsfeld) very nervous. As Rumsfeld said "...But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult one". As represented in the Spirit Animals piece by the solid black image.